Rohit Yadav
Read and Find Out
1. How is Ausable different from other secret agents?
Answer
Ausable was different from other secret agents in more ways than one. He had a small room in the musty corridor of a gloomy French hotel. It was on the sixth and top floor and it was scarcely the setting for a romantic adventure. He was extremely fat. Despite living in Paris for over twenty years, he spoke French and German only passably and had an American accent. Instead of getting messages slipped into his hands by dark-eyed beauties, he got only a telephone call to make an appointment. In these ways, he was different from the conventional notion of a spy.
2. Who is Fowler and what is his first authentic thrill of the day?
Answer
Fowler was a writer and he had come to meet Ausable.
Fowler’s first authentic thrill of the day came when he saw a man in Ausable’s room pointing a pistol toward Ausable and himself.
Read and Find Out
3. How has Max got in?
Answer
Max had got into the room with a passkey or a master key.
4. How does Ausable say he got in?
Answer
Ausable said that he thought Max had gotten into the room through the balcony. He said that it was the second time in a month that somebody had gotten into his room this way.
Think about It
1. “Ausable did not fit any description of a secret agent Fowler hand ever read.” What do secret agents in books and films look like, in your opinion? Discuss in groups or in class some stories or movies featuring spies, detectives, and secret agents, and compare their appearance with that of Ausable in this story. (You may mention characters from fiction in languages other than English. In English fiction, you may have come across Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, or Miss Marple. Have you watched any movies featuring James Bond?)
Answer
Secret agents in fiction are projected like ideal men, ‘Tall dark, and handsome’. They are usually well-built and keep beautiful women for company. They would always smoke pipes or cigars and do death-defying stunts. James Bond is a very famous character by Ian Fleming. Movies based on James Bond show hi-tech gizmos which assist the detective in countering villains. There are some exceptions as well. There is a character named Feluda which was created by Satyajit Ray, the famous Bangla Filmmaker. Feluda was a typical bhadralok by appearance.
2. How does Ausable manage to make Max believe that there is a balcony attached to his room? Look back at his detailed description of it. What makes it a convincing story?
Answer
Ausable tells Max that someone entered his room through the balcony before also. He also told him that he had asked the police to give him protection as he had some important papers with him. On listening Max became nervous and just wanted to escape from the police, as a result without noticing he jumped out of the window and fell down. Ausable’s ability to think quickly and calmly, in a situation of panic makes it convincing.
3. Looking back at the story, when do you think Ausable thought up his plan for getting rid of Max? Do you think he had worked out his plan in detail right from the beginning? Or did he make up a plan to take advantage of events as they happened?
Answer
No, I don’t think that he had worked out his plan in detail. He took advantage of the events as they happened. Ausable made a story of the balcony outside the room and as there was a knock at the door, he told it would be the police, all these events threatened Max. In such a hurry, he became restless and without seeing jumped out of the window.
Talk about It
1. In this story, Ausable shows great ‘presence of mind’ or the ability to think quickly and act calmly and wisely, in a situation of danger and surprise. Give examples from your own experience, or narrate a story, which shows someone’s presence of mind.
Answer
This story is a reference to the play ‘If I Were You’. Gurrad was captured by a criminal and the criminal pointed the gun towards him but he treated the criminal as a guest and trapped him in his confidence. He made the criminal run away as the police were behind him. He told the criminal to run through the exit door, which was actually a cupboard door. The criminal exited through the door and was caught in the cupboard.
Question 2.
Discuss what you would do in the situations described below. Remember that the presence of mind comes out of a state of mental preparedness. If you have thought about possible problems or dangers, and about how to act in such situations, you have a better chance of dealing with such situations if they do arise.
1. A small fire starts in your kitchen.
2. A child starts to choke on a piece of food.
3. An electrical appliance starts to hiss and gives out sparks.
4. A bicycle knocks down a pedestrian.
5. It rains continuously for more than twenty-four hours.
6. A member of your family does not return home at the usual or expected time.
You may suggest other such situations.
1. If a blanket is available, it should be put over the fire to shut out the air. If the fire is not due to an electrical problem, water can be thrown on it. If it is due to a short circuit, electricity must be disconnected immediately from everything in the kitchen before taking any other measure.
2. The child’s back must be thumped slowly until the piece of food stuck is vomited out. However, in case it continues, the child should be given trained medical aid immediately.
3. Electricity to the appliance should be immediately disconnected. If it is plugged into a socket, the plug must be removed from the socket. Later on, the appliance may be repaired by an authorized person.
4. First aid should be given to the pedestrian at once. Public help may also be asked, if necessary. Depending on the seriousness of the injury, the affected person may be shifted to hospital.
5. Flooding may be caused by a heavy downpour. So all necessary precautions for saving various possessions should be taken, besides informing the concerned authorities to take preventive action.
6. A family member not returning home at the usual time should be enquired for at the place he or she was expected to visit. If he or she was with friends, these friends or the friends’ families should be contacted. If there is no result from these inquiries, as a last resort, the local police may be informed.
Question 1.
MCQs
How did Ausable make Max believe there was a balcony?
(a) he made him see it
(b) with detailed description
(c) there was actually a balcony
(d) none of the above
Answer
(b) with detailed description
Question 2.
Was there a balcony?
(a) yes
(b) no
(c) maybe
(d) there is no mention of a balcony
Answer
(b) no
Question 3.
Who was actually knocking on the door?
(a) police
(b) waiter
(c) Max
(d) none of the above
Answer
(b) waiter
Question 4.
What did Max have in his hand?
(a) an important report
(b) a knife
(c) a pistol
(d) All of the above
Answer
(c) a pistol
Question 5.
Ausable was going to raise the issue of the balcony with _____.
(a) government
(b) management
(c) Max
(d) Fowler
Answer
(b) management
Question 6.
How, according to Ausable did Max enter?
(a) a passkey
(b) balcony
(c) window
(d) None of the above
Answer
(b) balcony
Question 7.
What did Max want?
(a) Fowler
(b) phone
(c) report
(d) all of the above
Answer
(c) report
Question 8.
What is the meaning of the word “slender”?
(a) weak
(b) slim
(c) fat
(d) None of the above
Answer
(b) slim
Question 9.
What was Fowler’s “first thrill of the day”?
(a) meeting Ausable
(b) sight of a man with an automatic pistol
(c) seeing a very important paper
(d) none of the above
Answer
(b) sight of a man with an automatic pistol
Question 10.
Who is Fowler?
(a) secret agent
(b) spy
(c) personal investigator
(d) writer
Answer
(d) writer
Question 11.
“he had never lost his _____ accent.”
(a) American
(b) French
(c) British
(d) None of the above
Answer
(a) American
Question 12.
Where did he come from?
(a) Paris
(b) Germany
(c) Boston
(d) None of the above
Answer
(c) Boston
Question 13.
Which floor was he staying at?
(a) ground floor
(b) first floor
(c) second floor
(d) top floor
Answer
(d) top floor
Question 14.
What is the meaning of the word “wheezily”?
(a) making a sound when you can’t breathe easily
(b) sneezing
(c) coughing
(d) None of the above
Answer
(a) making a sound when you can’t breathe easily
Question 15.
“_____ did not fit any description of a secret agent.”
(a) Fowler
(b) Ausable
(c) Max
(d) None of the above
Answer
(b) Ausable
Question 16.
How did Fowler feel at the end of the story?
(a) disappointed
(b) thrilled
(c) sad
(d) unhappy
Answer
(b) thrilled
Question 17.
Who fell down from the top floor of the hotel?
(a) Fowler
(b) Max
(c) Ausable
(d) Waiter
Answer
(b) Max
Question 18.
What story Ausable cocked up to Max?
(a) about the report
(b)about a balcony
(c) about his fatness
(d)about Fowler
Answer
(b)about a balcony
Question 19.
Why did Max enter Ausable’s room?
(a) to meet Ausable
(b) to snatch an important report
(c) to give information to Ausable
(d) to spend the night
Answer
(b) to snatch an important report
Question 20.
Max entered Ausable’s room through the …………..
(a) balcony
(b) main door
(c) back door
(d) roof
Answer
(b) main door
Question 21.
Who knocked at Ausable’s door?
(a) a policeman
(b) Max
(c) the waiter
(d) Fowler
Answer
(c) the waiter
Question 22.
Who was Max?
(a) the manager of the hotel
(b) another secret agent
(c) Ausable’s friend
(d) Fowler’s friend
Answer
(b) another secret agent
Question 23.
Fowler was………….. to meet Ausable.
(a) happy
(b)excited
(c) disappointed
(d)unaffected
Answer
(c) disappointed
Question 24.
Who came to meet Ausable?
(a) Ausable’s father
(b) Policeman
(c) Fowler
(d) Max
Answer
(c) Fowler
Question 25.
Where was Ausable staying?
(a) Inn
(b) French hotel
(c) Fowler’s home
(d) American hotel
Answer
(b) French hotel
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